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What is a Glen

22/3/2013

4 Comments

 

Solitude and loneliness

O do you see yon high hills
Covered o'er wi snaw
They hae pairted mony's the true love
And they'll soon pairt us twa
Busk, busk, bonnie lassie
Aye, and come awa wi me
And Ah'll tak ye tae Glenisla
Near bonnie Glen Shee

~ lyrics of a traditional Scots song

glen
"Glen - Sanctuary. A home for the heart. Longing and isolation." That's the definition of the card known as Glen in my Go Deeper oracle deck. How can all these things be the meaning of one card? I expect some of my readers will intuitively understand this, but for others, it's a puzzle. I'm sure that there is a whole generation of people out there who have not heard of Hannah Hauxwell, and I'm not sure whether her fame really reached North America, either. (I've been away in fairyland for 25 years, remember!) So allow me to introduce this lady to you.

Hannah was born on a farm in 1926, in a part of the Teesdale area called Baldersdale, in Yorkshire. Although remote, during her youth Baldersdale was a thriving farming community, but like similar places everywhere, during and after WWII the population dwindled rapidly. The Hauxwells hung on, but the isolated lifestyle left Hannah a spinster, and after the death of her mother when Hannah was thirty-five, she ran her farm single-handed. She had few neighbours, no running water, well or electricity in the early 1970s when she was "discovered" by the late Barry Cockcroft of Yorkshire Television. He featured Hannah in a documentary about the hardships of Dales farmers called "Too Long a Winter". This film highlighted the challenges of hill farming in winter - a theme which runs through Hannah's story. But as well as the challenges of frozen water supplies and sheep buried in snow drifts, life in isolated glens in winter has a further difficulty. The increased isolation from friends and other communities alluded to in the song lyric above.

In the late 1980s, Hannah finally made the decision to sell her farm and move into a nearby village. The grace with which she made the change was a testament to her good sense and fortitude, although there was never any doubt that she would have preferred to stay on at her farm. Being a celebrity perhaps made this easier in some ways, but Hannah never seemed all that interested in that side of her life, and it was the sale of her farm and its furnishings that set her up in her new place. I recall hearing a radio interview with her a few years back, and she said that once the loose ends were tied up, she never went back to Baldersdale. There is sadness in that statement, and longing, and perhaps very great wisdom, too.

Hannah Hauxwell, Caroline McClung, Baldersdale
An excellent likeness of Hannah in her forties, painted by Caroline McClung.

I'm attached to the place because my family have lived here since my great-grandfather's time - no-one else has lived in this house since it was built, but our family. And the lovely countryside through the iron gate down the new road. I've often thought... It's my favourite walk, and I've stopped and looked, and I've thought that it's one thing - if I haven't money in my pocket, it's one thing nobody can rob me of. It's mine. It's mine for the taking.
The beauty - to me there's nowhere like it, never will be. And whatever I am, wherever I am, this is me. This is my life. And if there's a funny old person in years to come - a ghost walking up and down here - it'll be me. A big part of me, wherever I am, will be left here. That's me. There's nowhere else. There's nowhere like it.
- Hannah Hauxwell
Whether such a place contains a lively community or only one or two families, these remote valleys have a special character, and so do their people. There is no doubt that the lifestyle has much to offer. A daily engagement with nature, beautiful scenery and great quiet. Very often the homes are roomy and comfortable (if hard to heat!) and have long histories. Most neighbours are good neighbours but keep themselves to themselves, being busy with their own work.
It's been a long time, however, if it was ever the case at all, since people living in such places weren't self consciously aware that there was a wide and interesting world outside. This becomes particularly acute for teenagers and young adults. Whether they long to find a mate, or look for adventure, a career, or perhaps people with similar interests, the longing to leave arises. Many who do leave find this longing replaced, in a few years, with the longing to return. The snug home, the freedom and beauty seems not such a bad trade-off for the hardship and loneliness, after all.
baldersdale
View of Baldersdale
hannah's meadow, baldersdale, low birk hatt
Hannah's Meadow
Hannah Hauxwell died in January 2018, aged 91. Part of the land she farmed has been designated a nature reserve, called Hannah's Meadow, due to the species rich grassland created by generations of natural, chemical-free farming practices. You can also read her autiobiography called Seasons of my Life.


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4 Comments
Lou
23/3/2013 07:10:37 pm

Lovely write up Kris. I have been lucky enough to spend my childhood and much of my adult years in the Yorkshire Dales, living so close by. The beauty never ceases.

Hannah was on television celebrating a milestone birthday (within the past 1-2 years) and she said she got to a stage she couldn't walk well enough to manage any more. She seemed happy though and though not in the heart of the hills she wasn't far away.

I liked the quotes too. Not everyone can see and appreciate the magnificence of rural scenery. Those who can, have memories to take with them on their travels

Reply
Kris Hughes
24/3/2013 07:41:19 am

Glad you enjoyed it, Lou. I didn't have a telly at the time Hannah was in her celebrity heyday, so my first experience of her was the book Seasons of my Life. You know how there are certain people you sort of carry around with you in your head, even though you don't know them? Well, Hannah Hauxwell is one of mine! I've since seen the original documentaries (they are on YouTube) and they are very good.

I don't now the Leeds area well, but I really enjoyed the drive to and form your place when I was there.

Thanks for the lovely comment.

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Jenny
25/3/2013 02:25:26 am

I remember the tv programmes about Hannah Hauwkswell. She reminded me somewhat of my paternal grandmother - who came from crofting stock and her ancestors (and therefore mine) lived in a remote glen which was finally cleared of human habitation not by nature or choice, but by the policy of the absentee landlord to make way for sheep farms - known around the Scottish Highlands as the Highland Clearances. Hannah made her choices with a great sense of place and belonging - something which has been eroded in modern times. It is strong in me, and so back I came to where I grew up. Most of my contemporaries didn't come back to live, but come back as exiles year after year from the four corners of the World. The pull is still there, and I suspect the mine is the last generation to feel it.

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Kris Hughes
26/3/2013 06:00:57 am

I don't know, Jenny. I think that less people in places like the UK and US feel it, perhaps, but it seems like people from, say, some parts of Eastern Europe, Asia and other places, are beginning to be less drawn by the pulls of the cities and modernisation. I seem to see more who enter that world for a short time, are able to see what they're losing, and able to say, "No, this is not a trade I'm willing to make."

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